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Tennessee governor signs bill to outlaw sweepstakes casinos

Legal Writer

Publish Date: May 25, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee finalized SB 2136 with his signature on May 22.
Law expands definition of illegal gambling in Tennessee to include sweepstakes casinos.
Statute also adds to the violations of Tennessee’s consumer protection law.

The litany of state legislative sessions in 2026 has produced another law targeting sweepstakes casinos, this time in Tennessee. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has signed a bill that makes the operation of sweepstakes casinos in the state a violation of multiple statutes.

Law enforcement in Tennessee has not yet taken action against any sweepstakes casinos under the new tenets. It could only be a matter of time, though, if there are any compliance issues.

tennessee state capitol building

Lee finalizes SB 2136

After a conference committee was necessary to get the bill to Lee’s desk, Lee signed SB 2136 on May 22. The language of the bill took effect immediately upon Lee’s signature.

The statute adds new text to Tennessee’s law governing the definition of gambling, ensuring that online casino-style games using a dual-currency system to award prizes fit within the parameters. The law also states that the operation of such games violates Tennessee’s consumer protection statute.

To ensure that these provisions possess a deterrent effect, the new law also expands the powers of the Tennessee attorney general in investigating potential illegal gambling. The current occupant of that position has been active on the issue already.

Tennessee AG already took limited action

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti did not wait for the receipt of expanded investigative powers to try to curtail sweepstakes casinos in the state. Skrmetti announced in December 2025 that he sent cease-and-desist orders to the operators of nearly 40 sweepstakes casino websites.

The announcement from Skrmetti stated that all the recipients either complied with the order or shared plans to wind down their activities in Tennessee with him. The list of recipients included many of the most prominent online casino sites like Chumba and High 5.

Skrmetti’s influence garnered those responses before this new law resolved any ambiguity about the status of sweepstakes casinos in Tennessee or Skrmetti’s authority to investigate them. With those elements now in place, Skrmetti could build on his earlier actions.

Sweepstakes casinos could face first prosecution

While Tennessee is the 11th U.S. state to enact some form of restriction on sweepstakes casinos, it could be the first to actually pursue civil or criminal penalties related to the operation of such websites. To this point, enforcement actions have consisted solely of cessation demands.

Compliance with these orders has eliminated a lot of the need for further action, as most recipients have either exited states or curtailed their businesses. However, such compliance has not been universal.

Skrmetti has demonstrated the will to pursue actions against sweepstakes casinos. The law has now provided him more agency in that interest.

The statute enables him to subpoena documents and demand that persons of interest comply with investigations upon threat of incarceration. Additionally, Skrmetti can use sweepstakes casinos as grounds for utilizing those powers.

Should Skrmetti pursue such actions, it would be groundbreaking for sweepstakes casinos in the U.S. and make Tennessee the most hostile state in the nation for those websites. With Lee’s signature, the threat for sweepstakes casino sites still operating in Tennessee now exists.

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